Freedom
by ScreamingParrot
Summary: How Echo came to be
1. 1

Rain came down

the arena floor was saturated spectator stands strewn with detritus blood and gore turning puddles all the cuddles of the rainbow

the drums were silent now

her captors were starting to get bored the matches were too short too predictable so theyd brought in the drums instead of betting on the outcome they bet on how many beats till they died

Tonight her stay in the cells was short someone must have paid for her the joys of slavery, female, good at fighting no need for her masters to choose between battle slave or whore she was worth twice the price as long as she survived both but of course her battle form was usless in the bedroom snarling snapping lunging for her captors theyd be eviserated in seconds

shockwave after shockwave racked her body claws dug into gravel with each spasm ears flat to her scull it was no use two years theyd kept her the special collar restricted her ability to shift there was no point fighting

the third shockwave forced the change silver blue fur reciding as she coughed desperate for air collapsing to the ground

"heel bitch!"

Translator chip buzzing background static as it filtered Kree to english

the chain attached to her collar was yanked so she toppled to the floor before scrambling to get up if she showed weekness they would take it upon themselves to toughen her up

bathed dressed drugged into compliance and chained on a long leash she was dumped in a guilded room her restraint long enough to reach any of the tables or chairs scattered about

her chesnut hair fell in ringlets bruises covered carefully in makeup her blue eyes sparkled with the addition of kohl

the room was warm at least the short skirt providing skant cover as it spun around her

Tonight was an Accusor she had no idea of his name simply knowing he was regular enough to prefer the more interesting tables with straps

a sigh escaped her as the doors swung open he strode in two guards flanking him hed waste a little time first as always toying with her

sitting on the lounger he took the glass of something his guard passed him such a deep red as to be almost black he toyed with it peering over the top of the glass as his eyes raked her form

"Ariel my dear have you missed me?" smirking over top of his fist he continued to stare

"yes master" cursing her brother for leaving her lost in her mind her feet unbidden knew what was essential for survival and padded softly towards him

thinking back she realised quite how quickly everything had happened

the floor shock hard enough to knock her off her feat almost into the krees lap

his drink spilled over the seat and his front as the doors swung inwards again blasters raised in a sea of burgendy storming into the room

the guards were down in seconds

another blast from outside shook the glass till windows exploded inwards

that would be the slave pens rigged to blow upon the walls being breached

disoriented she was dragged infront of the kree to shied him as sharp wistle splits the air as her eyes try to focus

Ruby eyes locked onto Blue for a brief second before they dropped to the floor submissively

this made things more complicated

"Sayer drop the girl an ill let ya live yah dont? well ur bountys dead OR alive"

a tall skinny man in a burgundy jumpsuit walked towards the windows now gaping as the sounds of a fight grew louder

"Capt'n they blew the slave pens"

shifting wasnt an option but the chains were heavy as the words sunk in past her drug addled brain her body wirked on auto pilot raising her to full height manicled wrists slammed up into the krees chin dropping him in an instant just as an arrow flew right through his heart

"damn were aiming fer his lung wanted im ta suffer, you ok girly"

rough blue hands reached down as she flinched away dropping her gaze to the floor shaking waiting for the beating

a heavy sigh reached her ear

"boys take anything we cn sell i want ya back on tha ships in 20, Kraglin here"

the tall skinny guy hurried over knifes already drawn

"them bastards is blue like me damn things prolly pissin hersel thinkin i is one of em get at coller offa her" creol accent thick with rage the centauran took a step back removing his coat

" what we gunna do with er Capt'n"

his head bent behind her own to look at the collars clasp

" dunno cant leave er here hurry up"

a swift click a gush of fluid as the locking mechanisms tubing was cut and Ariel was free

free, for the first time in two years head spinning from the whirlwind of emotions and drugs spiraling through her veins

" girl was ur name"

"name?"

"fuck think shes in shock Capt'n"

"shock?"

"ur masters dead ur coming with us quickly now"

"master"

"there a damn Echo in tha room girly? dun call me that its Yondu that theres Kraglin"

the room span gunfire and screams so loud

yondu took a step closer to the door holidng out his hand to take hers as feet propeled her forward into yondu as he spoke again

his words were drowned out by gunfire "whas ur name girl? comon we got go now"

"Echo?"

"Echo it is" swinging his coat around her shoulders buckaling it closed "stay close well keep yah safe"


	2. 2

they took off barreling through the hallways as the shots from outside grew deafening

The whores 'house' was a labyrinth of halls each wing having its own entrance and secret passages

the incessant tugging on her hand stoped abruptly and she barrelled into the back of the Captian her thoughts still clouded in fog

"Fuck left or right Krags?" with no windows in this part of the building it was impossible to know where they were panic was starting to edge its way in to Yondus voice

Spinning around trying to guage where they could possibly be Kraglins eyes grew wide

"No idea uh ...r"

"... right leads to the areana left the front courtyard sirs" the world was spinning as she spoke ridiculously she though they smiled at her but that was stupid as she suddenly heaved, the drug filled wine shed been forced to drink now decorating the marble floor

"Well done girl get it all up" Yondu bent over her to rub her shoulder before thinking better of it and standing abruptly

"ya think shes ill Yondu?" Concern audible in his voice as Kraglin ran a hand through his mowhawk to stop himself from touching the woman

"nah they prolly druged er makes em less likley to fight, course some like fight. Yall be fine soon Echo girl"

"they ever ..? "

"yeah"

"Fuck, cumon Echo ya want outa here righ?

she looked up into their eyes unbelieving that theyd still want her now they knew how to escape before a pale hand reached hers again tugging her up along after them as she wiped traces of vomit on the back of her other hand

stumbling on the steps as sharp glass cut her feet Kraglin pulled her into his side arm wrapping around her hip to support her

"careful now"

To the North a small group of kree were being hurded together accusors and diplomats here to use the slaves they weren't used to fighting for their lives, the guards long gone, shots were going wide or causung minor damadge as the Ravagers toyed with them getting closer and closer

A shrill scream rent the air as the little group made their way towards the ships boots planted suddenly as their heads wipped round in panic Kraglin releasing Echo to pull his knives

A small child maybe 10 clad in burgendy coat was wrenched up from the floor having gotten too close

"throw down your wepons or the child dies Udonta" panicked and trembling the Accusor shook the child

"Quill" barely audible the name spilled from his lips, arrow thankfully still tucked in its holster it was only blasters and knives on show as yondu and kraglin glanced at each other

Shock and pain clearly visible on their faces was like a pysical blow to her heart a child, their child, was in danger

she let the rage build remembering every rape, every battle, every drugging, every beating till she felt she would burst

"Did I fucking stutter Udonta? " hiking the child higher knife bit into his skin a bright bead of blood welling up trickling down the blade

"Yondu help" tears streaked the kids face pure terror evident as it lost control of its bladder

Sinking back into herself dragging forward the beasts consciousness Echo crouched low to the ground for a milisecond before gravel sprayed out as muscels shifted, bunched and propelled the beast forward gaping maw extended wings cut through the air as the lupine abomination lept horns glinting with the refelctions of plasma blasts

Snarling it took two leaps to clear the space between as the krees knife was turned to the beast child dropped and forgotten

He had no chance as jaws clamped shut through neck and shoulder tearing into him as the knife was plunged into the beasts chest but it wasnt enough, his head was torn from the body blood arching over the crowd as a hushed silence fell every man trembaling at the thought of the monster turning its attention to them

blood and gore matted into its fur as the wolflike head lowered to the child demonic eyes softening as a tongue snaked out to lick away the tears with a wimper as her paw pushed the child under her chest safe from harm as she sought her new masters awaiting instruction

"what the fuck"

"was that?"

"she aint hurting him"

"here ah . . . girl?"

"Echo?"

Ears perked up a hesitatant tail wagged as the Captian reached for the child blood from her chest dripping onto his arm as she worried the blade free with her teeth wincing as it fell out

a plasma shot rang out through the silence her skull shot back blood sprayed up and her body crumpled to the floor shifting back to her human form as she crumpled


	3. 3

"No! Echo!"

"Girly!"

Peter grabbed at Yondu making him stumble as he reached for the strange woman, Kraglin crashing to his knees beside her checking for a pulse

"shes ok, think it only glanced 'er she'll have a scar lucky it didn't take her eye out" Kraglin murmerd as he brushed her hair back exposing a relitivly neat slash dissecting her eyebrow that was determined to continue bleeding like a severd limb

"Fuck what is she Yondu?" Peter's curious eyes peked out around his arm as yondu tore at his shirt till he got a strip long enough to bandage her head, no trace of her previous form other than the paw prints in the gravel

"she were a slave they ad er chained up in brothel" gental hands wound the makeshift bandage around her head taking the opertunity while she was unconscious Yondu traced the line of her neck moving the colar of his duster slightly he could see the slave marks tattooed on her skin one from the slavepens, her owners mark a new one each time she was sold, sex slave, battle slave and one that claimed her as terran hmm

turning he lifted her slight form cradaling her to his chest, the poor girl weighed nothing, Yondu looked out at his men

"If i ever find out who shot her ill fuckin kill ya!"

"she were gonna bite yah Captain" Half nut tried to argue

"she did look mighty pissed" Tulk walking forward trying to get a better look was blocked by Kraglin

"shes a slave whats been druged, helped us escape an put 'erself in danger to rescue Peters sorry ass leave 'er be" Yondu huffed out as he walked back to the ship

tulk and Half nut went to follow

"Capt'n said leave her be" spat Kraglin as he dragged Peter back to the ship by his scruff

Quietly so only the unconscious Echo would have heard Yondu wispered to her

" lets get you back to the ship girly fuck knows what we gonna do with yah but ya aint a slave no more"

Jogging buckles and an out of breath wheeze as Kraglin and Peter caught up while Yondu considered his choices med bay, barracks?

"best put her in with us captian"

"ewww gross Krags shes unconscious have some standards!"

"shuydup Pete, we stick er in the medbay anyone can get in there least the captians cabins blastproof if she goes all hairy again we can contain her easy enough an crew cant get to her"

A grunt of agreement as once again Yondu strode off

"Kraggles change the shifts around ur on 2nd and 1st put me oposite you 2nd and 3rd till we hit Contraxia less time shes alone tha better"

"cool! can i get a bot this time seeing as you two'll be in a good mood with her around?"

"Whos 'er pete the bilgesnipes muther? Her names Echo get tha door an fuck no ur still too young"

rounding the corner to the captains cabin he scurrys on ahead

" im 15! _almost _you need to start treating me like a grown up!'

laughing both Captain and Kraglin shake their heads

"yah dun even shave yet yah aint grown bugger off Pete" shoving him back Kraglin shut the door in his face coding the lock to only himself and Yondu

She was laid against Captains chest as Kraglin set up crude hammock attaching it to the pipework stuffed with furs from the nest, no, bed yondu got funny when they called it a nest

"i got first shift if she stirs an sees little old blue me probably freak out comm me if yah need me krags "

"course i will Yon" looking at his mates pained expression he kissed his cheek memories of his own days in the slave pens fickering before his eyes

"ur both safe now luv"

Yondu snorted derisivly as he left couldnt let him know how much that ment to him

... ... ...

The low hum of an engine woke her along with pressure from her bladder, eyes flickered open and shut again just as quickly, the unfamiliar room a shock calming her heart she could hear deap breathing, the faint lingering twang of sex and b.o alerting her to the men in the room

Peaking around the cabin small trinkets lined most surfaces a desk in the corner was covered in messy paperwork and holopads, a large nest like bed covered in blankets and furs to fight the cold took up half the room

clad in a long tshirt that fell past her hips, the ravagers coat she had been wearing long gone, she shivered the blanket draped over her was warm but the shock of the situation played havock with her body sitting up silently Echo contemplated her options she couldnt move from the hamock without waking her new masters

they might beat her but she needed the loo was it worth the risk of sneaking past or best to wake them so she better understood what was expectated of her

lost in that thought a door suddenly opens light spilling into the room illuminating the beds only occupant

kraglin wasnt it? he looked terran but that was no guarantee which ment the Centauruan Yondu? must have been up

his sleepy eyes almost missed her as a hand reached for the bathrooms light switch, pausing as the slight sway of the hammock gave her away

oh shit! thought yondu, couldnt she have woken in a few hours when he was on the bridge spare the poor thing? no of course not the universe didn't play nice and yet she saw him and wasnt screaming could she possibly recognize him as different to the Kree?

maybe just maybe

" yah a wake Echo?" tentative and soft Yondu tried to sound unthreataning as possible

"yes master" eyes dipped to the floor as she answered

"dun go callin me that aint ur master" shit that was gruffer than he intended as she flinched

"My apologies m . . Sir"

sighing shaking his head

""in here its Yondu out there" indicating the other door presumably to the rest of the ship

"its captain and sleeping beauty over there is ma first mate Kraglin "

Her head rose a little still not quite making eye contact hands clasped tightly in her lap

"why yah up girl"

not daring to ask directly her eyes flickerd to his then the bathroom still illuminated behind him

ah

leaving the light switch and sitting down on the bed yondu contemplated the woman she still hadnt made a move yet she needed to pee? wait, no, she was a slave till yesterday, he thought back did she think he would hurt her for moving? surley not

"you guna make a move before ya mess tha hammock?"

confusion and fear flashed on her face it wasnt a direct order to move he wanted something but it wasnt clear

might as well risk it her eyes found his in the gloom seeking, questioning, asking permission

sighing he strode to the hammock stubbing his toe on a discarded holopad he reached out for her helping her down remebering the days Aleeta led him by the hand too scared to belive he was free to brainwashed to fulfill his own basic needs wothout a direct order

" go on now"

Yondu sat on the bed back up against the wall how long had she been a slave? it had taken years of patience from Aleeta and Stakar to teach him and so much was still missing

walking back into the room a string of fairy lights now illuminated the ceiling light dancing of the trinkets to make the cabin sparkle forgetting herself Echo smiled before reality hit head bowed, back stright she tried in vain to supress the shiver that ran down her spine as she awaited instruction

" we aint ur masters yah know tha right? yer free now, fuck knows what we gonna do with yah but yer free"

hope blossemed through her veins, could he really mean it?

"you tired?"

"yes, but i cant sleep"

"how long were you . . ." not wanting to say the word as he rubbed the scars around his neck from his own collar

"two years give or take" it was scary how quickly Echos mind locked away the last few years of learned behaviours letting her slip into easy conversation, oh well that was a problem to deal with later she thought ashe patted the bed next to him rifling through the bedside draw empty bottles clinking, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth she was actually talking to him not screaming in fear go figure why not make the most of it

another shiver shock her body as a bottle was pressed into her hand

moonshine of some sort it singes her nose hairs as she takes a swig

"how?"

she took another long pull on the bottle before answering making him worry he had gone to far

"My brother... i came out with his team as a favor im not pure breed terran 'snickering' i was covering for the hired muscel but the job got complicated I shifted drawing fire . . . i didnt get back to the ship in time i guess, he left without me slavers grabbed me as it was taking off i was exhausted i couldnt fight anymore"

the alcohol flooded her body with faux warmth as she got comfortable

"Fuck thats strong" hand clasps quickly to her mouth

blue fingers brush hers seeking the bottle

" yah aint gotta worry bout that yah free 'member"

"i think its going to take time getting used to it"

the bottle passed back was half empty already he grinned downing the rest as they watched the stars slip by outside his window

The clock on the desk read 2 hours later than when he'd first woken to piss

"I got first shift soon think yah can sleep now?"

alcohol making her thoughts fuzzy reminants if the dugs still in her system she did the only sensible thing nodding as she laid back on the bed eyes already closed

"oh no you dont"

grinning yondu bent to lift her as kraglins hand reached over in sleep curling around her holding her safe against him, there was no way Yondu would be able to extract her without waking them both

a flash back to the safety of puppy piles from his own slavepen days had yondu giving in to the inevitable curling up with his arms around both of them till morning


	4. 4

Kraglin woke next morning nusaling deep into Yondus neck for a kiss his hair getting in the wa. . . Yondu didnt have hair?

Arms tightening around his mate . . . no that wasnt right either Yondu may be on the chunky and stars did he love it but he definitely doesn't have boobs

"Wakey wakey sleeping beauty" Yondus dirty chuckle and hand groping Krags arse playfully would usually result in morning nookie that would leave him walking funny for most of the shift but not today

Echos head was pillowed on Yondus shoulder features relaxed in sleep as Kraglins head remained burried in her hair Yondu pulling them both closer like it was the most natural thing in the world

"Care to explain Yon?"

"She couldnt sleep so we talked awhile an ah got her drunk"

"Why?"

"Seemed like a good idea at tha time, had sum of that stuff Obolo brewed"

"Fuck that were strong shit yah got any more left?"

"Yah got 'nother few bottles stashed, she'll be out for a while by my guess didnt believe she were free"

"Would you?"

"No, comon shift ur arse"

"Dunt wana" burrowing further into Echos hair and the nest he sulked Yondu might be on this shift but he sure as hell wasnt

"Now, before the poor lass gets an eyeful of your skinny arse dressing and decides to hop out tha nearest airlock"

he had a point neither of them slept in more than their pants nor could they be classed as lookers

... ... ...

As Yondu made his way to the bridge growling absently at rookies who didnt move out of the way quick enough his mind wandered back to his cabin the one with the hungover ex slave in their bed, how the fuck did he always get messed up with this shit, what were they going to do with her? He had nothing against women as Ravagers but his crew was currently exclusively male and since the exhile finding crew was tough enough let alone crew with morals these were murderous retches the scum of the universe kept inline only by his reputation and a whistle it was hard enough keeping Peter safe around them . . .

still with no concrete idea what theyd do with her Yondu did what he did best and Ignored the problem either it would resolve itself or more likley Kraglin would figure it out no sence wasting his time on it when more important things required his attention draping himself over his chair as he started reading through the last shifts reports six fights a stabbing, non fatal and a missing crew member probably dead

sigh

they were on course to Contraxia a successful mission ment the crew had unit chits burning holes in their pockets itd be a week till they docked the crew would be antsy knowing what was coming keeping the violence to a minimum was going to be nigh on impossible

... ... ...

fuck fuck fuck Echo thought as she woke how was she still their bed and why hadn't he moved her?

Too late to worry about that now it was already half way through the morning at least she was alone in the bed if not the room

Testing the air she smelt them both strongly not surprising since was in their bed with undertones of leather, engine oil and plasma residue permeating the room marking it as their territory

A quiet chuckle reached her ears as she took in her surroundings

The taller one, Kraglin, was still in the room with her sitting up silently he was too absorbed in the latest storyline to notice her, his feet propped on the end of the nest as he grinned at the screen

Trashy storys they may be but most of the crew were hooked on this series not that theyd admit it

Looking around now with the lights on she took in in the cluttered mess of the room, clothes dumped on the floor paperwork stacked haphazardly on every avalible surface and a medium sized pot plant tucked in a corner the only thing in the room that appeared to be well cared for its glossy leaves a deep green stems darkening to purple a wall of shiny objects protecting it from the encroaching paperwork

"Fuck! Your awake?!" he fumbled the pad in shock droping it on the floor they both winced at the crack, shit when had he last checked on her?

"Sorry" worrying her lip between her teeth Echo slid out from the covers to retrieve the holo a quick check over showed a long spideweb crack over the lower left side not unusable at least with eyes downcast and heart racing she held it up for Kraglin to take

"Why ya sorry for? not your fault I droppedd tha darned thing, uh im Kraglin by the way" holiding out his hand as Peter had shown them was the custom greeting for Terrans, she smiled gripping his and shaking

"Ya ah . . . You hungry?" Shit he needed to sort her some proper clothes that tshirt of his while it coverd the essentials was distracting

"yeah"

"Go ahead an wash up" indicating the shower room "by the time I sorted yah sum clothes we can meet Yondu in tha mess"

"Thank you" smiling broadly Echo contemplated how different her life was only a day ago as she fiddled with the taps to try and start the shower memories flooded into her thoughts trying to pull her into depression at what had been

No, pushing the thoughts away quickly stripping off the tshirt that had served as nightwear she stepped under the cool water as the wave of panic hit again, No Not Now! there would be time to deal with it but not now

right now what was important was a good wash even if the shower itself wasnt the cleanest, explicit images crudely painted in the grime gave her more insite into the lives of her rescuers

trying not to look at herself in the showers refective surfaces she still knew what she would find dried blood in her hair and down her face bandage already unravelling she was covered in bruises at least she healed fast theyd be gone in a day or two eyeing up what looked like it could be soap Echo risked it and lathered up and got to work cataloging the other injuries as she srubbed her skin raw

The lump on her skull and and the cut through her eybrow, check, not too deep it was already healing well, skuffs around her neck from the collar were scabbing over none deep enough to scar, the only permanent reminder being the tattoos on her neck but a decent coverup could deal with those

Further down bruised ribs and pulled muscels along with a few cuts on her feet were the only other traces of the escape left shed gotten off lightly

She was truly free

Too cold to contenplate life any longer in the shower Echo stepped out wrapping a towel around herself and using what must be Kraglins comb since Yondu was lacking in the hair department she started teasing out the knots in her hair

... ... ..

Kraglins search was successful he had found a pair of leather trousers he never wore preferring his jumpsuit, a black wifebeater of yondus that would fit her better than his own Echo being significantly larger than him in the chest department and finally a jacket that had been intended for Peter after his next growth spirt oh well hed have to stop growing for a while the weed

Knocking on the bathroom door opening it just a little he called through

"Yah doin ok? got you sum proper clothes"

struggaling with the last knot she smiled

"Your a star Kraglin, Thank you"

Hearing the grin in his voice from the other room "Ravagers dont say thank you"

"Im not a Ravager, for the first time in a long time im me and I like to say thank you"

Gods even to her own ears that sounded like a petulant child but the shear joy of being able to say what she was thinking was unparalled

Taking the clothes she dressed too quickly the leathers sticking to her still damp skin not wanting to co operate

"Kraglin? do you have a knife i could borrow for a moment?"

laughing internaly he had 17 on him right now

"sure why?" handing over the one from his left wrist its hilt carved in Centauruan ruins, Yondu had given him it on their anniversary of course not in recognition of the day just a mere cowinkydink that it coincided

As Echos hand now sporting the wicked blade rose towards her neck kraglin panicked grabbing her arm

"No!"

"its just a knot, see? no need to panic" pulling the matted hair from the back of her head Kraglin sighed in relief still taking the blade from her he worked around the matt saving as much hair as he could

"Are you ok" Ech asked a little concerned by his behaviour

"You arnt exactly acting like we'd expect yah to" sheathing the blade Kraglin turned her to look at him

"Ive got no idea how I should be acting, right now im pretending it was all a bad dream so I can still function I'm sure it'll hit me soon and ill probably become a jibbering wreck who flinches from every touch but for now. . . "

"So you'll deal with it when you absolutely have to and not before?"

"Yeah"

"Ur jus like tha captian" shaking his head and sighing he pinged a comm message to said emotionally constipated Captian


	5. 5

The mess was heaving like a high school cafereria, eyes darting around trying to take everything in Echo stuck so close to Kraglin they were touching

What was wrong with him anyone else bumping into him constantly and all up in his personal space and he would be raging! but her? Every time she broke contact even for a second he just wanted to pull her closer fucking alpha mentality she smelt like them she was pack

Grabing caff and bowles of a musli type mush figuring it was safe for most species he herded her towards the tables to get her away from the milling ravagers growling under his breath

Peter waved frantically from a table not too far away getting Kraglins attention, great he was going to have to put up with mouth a million Pete at least nobody else would be stupid enough to join them nobody wanted to socialise with the brat if they could help it

Earphones tugged down around his neck mouth still fill of mush spraying it across the table as he lent over

"Heya beautiful im Pete" hand extended

Tensing a little still shoulder to shoulder against him against him a silent snarl exposing his teeth ever so slightly had Quill looking uneasy

"Echo," reaching out her hand was soft and clean too soft for this ship even he knew that

"Sooo . . . whats with the wearwolf thing"

"Boy!"

Yondu cliped him round the ear as he sat down next to him

"Mind ur fuckin manners" gods the kid was much older than you'd first thought yesterday but still so childish how on earth did he survive on this ship?

"Its ok" Smiling at the table in general eyes firmly on her meal twirling the spoon about in patterns in the mush

"One of my parents must have been an Elemental, I inherited the ability to shift, an affinity to fire and I age slower than terrans but not much else"

"Which one was it?"

"Im not sure, I was adopted quite young"

"Can you change whenever you want or you gota wait for a full moon" interrupted the teenager grining like a moron

"I'm not a wearwolf! *laughing* I can shift at will but it takes a lot of energy and it has to come from somewhere "

"Can you breath fire?"

Starting to get nervous at the track his questioning was taking but weary of outright refusung to answer Echo dtarted to slio back into her submissive mode eyes downcast shoulders dropping as she answered

"No I'm not a dragon either its just an affinity I can sway it, if im flying and need a thermal I can heat the air but thats pretty much it"

"Wha's a dragon?" Yondu asked

"Giant lizard with wings that breaths fire" Pete replied

"Cool"

"They aren't real Krags" sneared Peter

"do you keep your clothes when you change back?"

" Pete!"

"Quill!"

A blush rising on her cheeks she seemed smaller than last night trying to curl into herself, Yondu fumed slapping the teenager around his head so hard it shot forward bouncing off the table

""Boy! why in tha seven hells you think thas an ap-prop-rea-ate question ta go askin a lady" Barked Yondu as Kraglin snarled across the table as Echo flinched when his hand brushed her shoulder

"Fuck! she aint no lady . . ." blood was dripping from his nose not broken at least for now

Ravagers liked a fight as much as the next person but the mess was dangerously quiet as everyone simultaneously managed to remember they had business elsewhere their Captians thunderous barratone dripping with the promise of pain

"Whatchu say boy?"

"Well shes a slave whore, thats why you kept her round? You two are fucking so the crew gets her right?"

"You better git for ah run ya through boy aint no slaves on ma ship aint nobody ownin' no one else!"

a sharp whistle as Peter fled the room had him running frommthe yaka arrow clesr to the other side of the Eccelctor

Her hand froze holding the spoon breathing low and laboured as she fought tooth and nail to keep her emotions under control pushing them back down to be dealt with another day

Kraglins arm a warm weight across her shoulders, Yondus hand gripping hers over the spoon as they worriedly exchanged glances while slavery had been a part of both their lives before the Ravagers to differing degrees their experiences with women usually only went as far as occasionally inviting a third to their bedroom romps this was far beyond even their combined experience

"Uh ... I uh.." gods Captain never stutterd " Igotta go sort some cargo probably take tha rest of ma shift if yah wana help Echo?"

"Probably for tha best ya stick with capt'n I gotta do a bit o M ship maintenance gunna be tricky"

her hand squeezed his fingers in acceptance as she lent into Kraglin momentarily leaving the trays for some rookie to deal with

Yondu recognised the need for closness keeping his hand on the small of her back as they made their way through the ship to the cargo holds rubbing soothing circles with his thumb as they walked

... ... ...

Instead of going back to his room that night Peter figured he was much safer sleeping in the Milano as he reached the hanger his jaw dropped to the floor

his beautiful ship! the left wing was removed completely stripped and laid out but not in order his console engibe and coms system all tge same it would take him months to fix all this

As he started sifting through the wires strung from the celing his com watch bleeped flashing the legend

Scrub duty ships bogs as every toilet he knew of on the ship flashed up on the map


End file.
